It’s National Preservation Week! While every week of the year is “preservation week” for cultural heritage professionals, National Preservation Week focuses on outreach to the general public and among allied professions such as archivists, librarians, museum curators, vendors of archival supplies, preservation administrators, and conservators.

Here at ISU Library, we’re focusing attention this week on what to do about WET BOOKS. Too often, a library book accidentally gets wet, and by the time the borrower has returned it to the library, it is so infested with mold that we end up having to discard the book and charge the borrower a hefty replacement fee. Library users often don’t realize how expensive it is to replace a library book. Not only are they charged the cost of the book itself, but also processing fees for the book to be acquired, cataloged, and marked for the shelf.

We’ve designed Preservation Week t-shirts with the design above on the front, and advice about how to handle wet books on the back. Access Services and Preservation staff will be wearing the t-shirts as well as “Ask Me About Book First Aid!” stickers. This Wednesday, April 30, through Friday, May 2, we will be giving away free t-shirts to the first 40 library users who ask a t-shirt-wearing staff member about preservation or book first aid.

During the 2010 flood, we waived fees for replacing damaged books, because we recognized that the campus community was struggling to salvage a lot more than their library books. However, we would really like to save students and staff the cost of replacement fees whenever possible, so we’re campaigning to educate our users about what Preservation can do for them.

Accidents happen! Sometimes, a drink spills onto a library book. Books get rained on, or dropped in puddles. Bringing a wet book back to the library immediately gives Preservation a chance to dry it properly before permanent damage (warping, cockling, mold) sets in. Follow our simple tips to help us mitigate damage to our collections, and your reward will be avoiding a potentially costly replacement fee!

Damp Book?

Fan open pages

Stand book on end in well-ventilated area until dry.

Return book to Circulation Desk and tell staff.

Wet Book?

Return book immediately to Circulation Desk.

If Library is closed: Wrap book in wax paper or foil and freeze. Return the still-wrapped book to the Library as soon as it opens.

Do not put a wet book in a plastic bag!

Moldy Book?

Seal book in a plastic bag.

Return book to Circulation Desk as soon as possible.

Warn staff that book is moldy.

Thank you for helping us care for the library collections that we all share!